What is the best way to soak corn seeds before planting?

If you soak corn seeds before planting, you can easily discard unsuitable seeds and get almost 100% germination. To obtain additional effects, summer residents use not just water, but special solutions.

Compositions for soaking corn kernels

Do I need to soak corn seeds without fail? You can do without it. If whole and healthy grains are used, they will certainly germinate in the ground, but somewhat later.

Presowing preparation includes heating and soaking seeds:

1. First, the grains are spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet and placed on a sunny windowsill, allowing them to warm up for 3-4 days.
2. After that, you can proceed to the soaking stage.

You can soak corn in various formulations. Each of them has a certain positive effect.

In nutrient and stimulating solutions, corn seeds are soaked for 3-6 hours. This time is enough to start the growth processes and fill the grains with useful substances.

Melt water

It is prepared in advance. The water should be poured into a plastic bottle or container and placed in the freezer. Then the ice is taken out and allowed to thaw exactly half. The fact is that harmful impurities are concentrated in the center of the ice mass, and thus it will be possible to get rid of them.

Melt water changes its molecular structure and has high biological activity during the first 12 hours after thawing. From the seeds soaked in it, strong healthy plants later grow, which are resistant to diseases and pests, capable of producing a high yield.

The water temperature at the time of soaking should not exceed +20 ° C.

Water with honey

The honey solution is prepared from 1 tbsp. spoons of honey and 250 ml of water. This beekeeping product belongs to natural growth stimulants and is able to replace industrial preparations:

• "Heteroauxin",
• "Epin",
• "Immunocytophyte".

Honey awakens vitality in the embryos of seeds and gives energy for accelerated development.

You can use a product of any composition (linden, floral, buckwheat, acacia, and so on). The main thing is to use only natural honey for soaking, the quality of which you can be sure of, otherwise the procedure will be useless.

Aloe juice

It is not used in pure form, but mixed with water in a 1: 1 ratio. Such a solution has a disinfecting effect, activates metabolic processes, and promotes rapid germination. This method is ideal for those who already have such a plant at home.

Preparation of raw materials has its own characteristics:

• Only mature leaves from a flower older than 3 years can be used.
• The pre-cut leaves are wrapped in a thick cloth and placed on a refrigerator shelf, where they should spend 7-10 days. During this period, the content of biologically active components in the plant sap increases many times over.
• For old seeds, aloe extract is used in its pure form without dilution with water.

It makes no sense to use a meat grinder to get a small amount of juice. It is obtained by making a longitudinal incision on the leaf and squeezing the contents of the pulp into a saucer or cup.

Infusion of wood ash

Such a composition can be considered a natural fertilizer, because ash contains all the basic elements necessary for plants - potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium.

First you need to prepare the infusion. For 1 liter of warm water add 2 tbsp. tablespoons of ash powder. After that, the solution should be infused for 2-3 days.

The wood used for ash production must be environmentally friendly, without any signs of rotting and deterioration. It is unacceptable to burn for this purpose wooden products or boards covered with paint, varnish, impregnated with chemical compounds.

How to soak seeds correctly?

Before soaking the seeds for planting, they are calibrated in order to select high-quality planting material. This will require a shallow container of cold water and the seeds themselves.

The seeds are immersed in water and wait a few minutes. High-quality and not overdried seeds will fall to the bottom, they are used later for planting. The floating grains can be thrown away, there will be no sense from them.

Then they act like this:

1. At the bottom of a deep saucer, put cheesecloth folded in 2 layers.
2. Seeds are laid out on top of the gauze pad so that they do not come into contact with each other.
3. Pour water or a stimulating compound on a saucer, the grains should be half covered.
4. Cover the seeds with damp gauze.

If a nutrient or stimulating solution was used, the swollen grains are planted after 3–6 hours.

When soaking in spring or melt water, the saucer is removed to a dark, warm place and waited for the white tails of the roots to hatch. During the soaking process, add water if necessary.

Do not completely immerse the seeds in the liquid. Upon awakening, they need oxygen, which is involved in biological processes. If there is no air access to the corn grains at this moment, the planting material will become unusable and it will only be left to throw it away.

You should also not overexpose seeds on which sprouts have already hatched. In the process of growth, the roots will intertwine with each other and can be damaged during planting.

Soaking corn seeds will be especially helpful for gardeners living in cold climates. Indeed, in insufficiently heated soil, the grains will take much longer to germinate. In any case, such a procedure does not bring harm, but there is a visible benefit from it. Therefore, we can safely recommend soaking as a pre-sowing preparation for this culture.